Ginger-Garlic Chicken with Fresh Fig Pan Sauce

August 24, 2009

Where does the time go? It is hard to believe that the summer is almost over. Make sure you continue to take advantage of all those seasonally fresh ingredients that are still out there since they'll be gone as quick as those warm summer days.

Last week I whipped up this recipe from Cooking Light to take advantage of all of the figs that are in season at this time of year. Oooohhhh...yuck...figs you might say? Did you read Dr. Seuss's Green Eggs and Ham?? Don't knock it until you try it because I was a "fig hater" (silly because I don't know if I ever had them before). But, while shopping at Whole Foods one afternoon, they were serving up samples of a fig spread with brie on petit toasts. It was love at first bite! I am a fig convert and you can ask anyone who has been at my house as of late because I am serving up that tasty little appetizer on a regular basis!

Anyway, enough history, this recipe is fresh, tasty, light and fairly easy to make.

Ingredients:
4 (6 ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 large garlic clove, grated
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion bottoms
1 pound ripe Kadota or Brown Turkey figs, cut into 1/4 inch thick wedges
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion tops
1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted

1. Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap; pound each chicken breast half to 1/4-inch thickness using a meat mallet or small heavy skillet.

2. Combine ginger, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and garlic in a small bowl; mash with a spoon to form a paste. Rub paste evenly over chicken; cover and chill 20 minutes. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken to pan; cook 2 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. (Foodie note- I found it definitely took longer than 2 minutes on each side to cook so make sure you check that it is fully cooked before taking it out of the pan. Also, unless you have a huge frying pan, you will probably need to work in batches.) Add green onion bottoms to pan; saute 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add figs; saute 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, vinegar and sesame oil. Remove from heat; spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with green onion tops and sesame seeds.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size- 1 chicken breast half and about 1/3 cup sauce)
Calories 318, Fat 7.3 grams (sat 1.1g, mono 3.2g, poly 2.2g)

Bon appetit!
Foodie